The Name Jar By Yangsook Choi

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About Book

Title: The Name Jar
Author & Illustrator: Yangsook Choi
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Major Book Awards: No major book awards
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 8
Appropriate Grade Levels: Pre-k to 3rd Grade [can be used up to 5th grade]

Summary

This story written by Yangsook Choi talks about a girl named Unhei, who moved from Korea to America with her family. As the new kid on the school bus, a kid asked for her name. Telling them her name was Unhei, the kids on the bus couldn't pronounce her name and started teasing her. Feeling a little shocked from this situation, she decided to not introduce herself on the first day and tells her classmates that she hasn't picked out a name yet. Fascinated by Unhei, her classmates then tried to help her pick out a name by putting their ideas in a jar. Unhei practiced introducing herself with all the suggested names and day by the day the name jar got fuller and fuller. Next week came and Unhei was ready to introduce herself to the class. Encouraged by her supportive friends and family Unhei now knows her name. Now loving her name, she confidently introduced it and showed her class how it is written in Korean and English and taught them how to pronounce it. 

Evaluation - Would I Incorporate this book in the Classroom?

I really enjoyed reading this book, as I was able to relate to Unhei in some way. Being a person with a not so common "American" name can be hard on many children who is new to this country and school. So, it was nice for the author to touch base on this commonality for those who relate. Another thing that I've liked is how Yangsook Choi incorporated some Korean words throughout the story as well as teaching about the cultures of Korea. I definitely would use this book in my classroom, but more for Pre-k to 3rd Grade. For the younger grade level kids, I see myself reading this book for their first week back to school. This is a reminder for kids to celebrate their classmates and their names. Maybe afterwards each student can share their names, how they got it, and its meaning [if they know]. This activity can also be done for 2nd and 3rd graders, but to take it a step further, after the read aloud I will ask comprehension questions. If this was read a little more into the school year, students will be practicing summary using the SWBST method.  

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